Neighborhood Watch
by tophis1
Summary: Raoul gets himself into trouble all the time. The night can bring out some unexpected assistance. short oneshot ErikxRaoul friendship sorta NOT slash


Raoul knew that someone was following him. They had been for a while now. After he'd left the bakery he could sense a dark shadow trailing behind him, keeping a good distance but never losing sight. He couldn't tell how many there were, but he caught a glimpse of one when he turned into the alley.

Granted, that was possibly the dumbest place to go when you thought someone was going to jump you, but Raoul was too panicked to think of anything else.

He jumped when a trash bin was knocked over and quickened his pace. Now he could practically feel the pursuers breathing down his neck, getting closer and closer.

A few wrong turns in the dark left him stumbling through empty streets, trying his hardest not to look back at the strangers who obviously meant him harm. He had no idea where he was and there was no one around to call upon.

"Ah!" Raoul hit a dead end. Before he even had the chance to turn around he could sense the shadows taking form, smirking at his plight. He moved as quickly as he could, hitting any open surface of the hooded men and trying to get out of the tight space before they could get to him.

Unfortunately there were at least six of them and Raoul could only hit three before they caught him and pinned him to the ground. The one directly over him held his arms to his sides and spit in his face.

"Turn his pockets." A man ordered, rubbing his jaw. Raoul realized he must be the leader. And the first one he'd hit.

Two less burly men reached into his pockets and dug out a few francs and a box of matches. They handed them to the leader who gave him a glare.

"This it?" He sneered, stuffing the paper into his pockets.

Raoul glared fiercely, trying to look as threatening as possible, despite the situation. "You will not get away with this. Return my money or-"

The men laughed in a cruel, sadistic manner, making Raoul stop. The tallest of the group pulled out a knife which caught Raouls attention even more and he began struggling, though it was no use.

Raoul didn't see it, but he heard the change in laughter when one of the men stopped, then another. The remaining thugs didn't seem to notice until at least four of the men were already dead.

The one hovering over Raoul didn't even have time to flinch before a knife slid cleanly into his back, piercing his heart. Raoul watched in wonder as the once wild and crazy eyes lost their shine and eventually glazed over. When the body fell Raoul screamed and quickly scrambled out from under the limp form and pressed himself against the cold brick that kept him trapped in the tight space.

One dark figure stood alone, wiping the blood off his weapon with the tail of his cloak. The rest laid like rag dolls carelessly disposed of by a young child. The man stopped when the blade was clean and fluidly moved to loom over the young vicomte.

"You're rather far from home."

Raouls breath caught. He knew that voice.

"phantom…" He whispered. His voice sounded choked.

The figure seemed to tense, as if he weren't supposed to know who he was. "Get up." He ordered.

Raoul quickly got to his feet, though they felt like they would give out any second. He kept his palms against the wall for support. "What are you doing here?"

"Is that your only response?" He scoffed.

"Sorry." Raoul blurted, then chided himself for saying such a thing to the very entity that was haunting the opera house and trying to steal away his fiancé.

The shadowy figure seemed amused, but didn't respond further than turning and gesturing for Raoul to follow.

Raoul gave him an odd look, then quickly stepped over the bodies littering the alley, trying not to look at the haunted faces or puke at the stench of death clinging to the cold night air. He didn't have much time to stare at the carnage since the ghost was moving so quickly.

Once he was out of the alley, he looked around to find that he was alone. He was about to start walking back to the main streets when the shadows shifted again and the man stood in front of him, blocking his path. Raoul tensed and took a step back, but stopped when his bag was held out for him to take.

"oh." He breathed a sigh of relief, quickly taking the bag to see that all its contents were still there and not squished. He must have dropped it during the chase.

The ghost watched him for a moment, not knowing what to do. After a moment of silence he cleared his throat and motioned to a nearby alley a few feet away. "You're in no condition to steer a horse." He ran a hand through his hair. "The Opera house is nearby. You will stay there for the night."

"What?" Raoul took another step back and glared at him. "How do you know I didn't take a carriage? It may be waiting for me now."

"I saw you ride into town." He grumbled hotly. Suddenly, he seemed to relax. "You're shaking."

Raoul was about to protest, but when he looked at his hands he could see that he was, indeed, shaking. The chilled winds reminded him that he was soaked in blood and wearing only a thin jacket.

"Come. You may leave when you've calmed down."

"Calm?" Raoul shook his head in disbelief. "You-" he let out a nervous laugh, whether it was to lighten the rather stressful situation or it was the beginning of mental breakdown, neither could tell. "just killed those men! And you want me to go with you to the opera house?"

The man crossed his arms, making him seem much too real for Raouls tastes. "If you don't want to join them, I suggest you follow what I say."

Raoul held his breath and clutched his bag tighter. Erik nodded to him and resumed walking down the alley with Raoul following cautiously, but not too far behind.

Eventually they reached the Opera Populaire and Raoul watched as the dark figure merely slipped into the shadows and disappeared. He took a step closer to the darkness, trying to see where the phantom could have possibly gone.

He nearly had a heart attack when a hand reached out and grabbed the front of his jacket, pulling him into the unnaturally dark shadows. He stumbled forward and looked around. He knew he was indoors now since there was no wind, but it was pitch black.

"Vicomte." Raoul jumped which made Erik smirk. It was much too easy to scare the boy. "This way."

"I can't see." Raoul moaned, putting his hands out in front of him to at least find a stable surface. He was so wound up and scared he didn't think he could stand to fumble in the darkness with a murderous entity that obviously was not hindered the way he was.

Suddenly there was a firm hand wrapped around his wrist, tugging him forward. He gasped, then quickly tried to compose himself. It did him no good to seem weak in front of a possible enemy. He still didn't know the ghosts reasoning for saving him.

"Sir." The term seemed odd to Raoul, but he didn't want to keep calling him 'ghost' or 'phantom'. "Why did you…come to my aid?"

The man kept silent and for some reason it made Raoul realize that the hand holding him was real. It wasn't a ghostly touch. It was firm and warm and all too human. The Phantom that had tormented the opera house was just a mortal man.

"You are not to touch anything." He instructed, making Raoul focus on the darkness in front of him instead of his hand. "You'll stay in one of my rooms until morning. I'll retrieve your horse as well."

Off in the distance there was a light, illuminating the hallway and his guide bit by bit. The man was taller than himself and looked fairly confident. Raoul didn't know what was worse; being blinded by darkness and wondering where the man was or being able to see him and being terrified of him.

The man let go of him to retrieve a candle and light it on a nearby torch. In a few seconds he was back to lead Raoul across the room and to a new doorway. It was also pitch black, despite the candle light.

"Here." He tossed a pair of trousers and a white shirt at Raoul. "Leave your clothes in front of the door."

Raoul stared at the clothes for a moment before looking up to say something. The words fell dead on his tongue when he finally got a look at the gentleman's face. He had never heard any myths of him having an unnatural white mask. He looked nothing like a skeleton or a rotting corpse.

The figure gave him a harsh glare before shoving him into the room and setting the candle on a nearby table. He was about to close the door when Raoul quickly grabbed onto his arm and made him stop.

"Wait!" He blurted, not really knowing what to say. The man was still glaring at him, so he averted his gaze. "Tell me why you helped me. You and I are not allies."

As he had expected, there wasn't a response for a while. The man took back his arm and softened his glare. "Christine loves you."

Raoul blinked. "Isn't that a good reason to kill me?"

"Do you want me to kill you?" He demanded. Raoul quickly shook his head. "I love Christine more than you ever could. I will do anything to make her mine." Raoul tensed, expecting some form of attack. Perhaps the phantom was now realizing that this would be the perfect time to kill him. "But-" Raoul looked up, seeing the resigned expression he was given. "I want to see her happy. You… make her happy."

Raoul was getting more uncomfortable by the second. "…I-"

"And until the day that she decides to come back to me, you will continue to make her happy." His expression suddenly darkened. "Right?"

"Right. Yes." Raoul stuttered, taking a step back into the room. "So…is that why you were stalking me?"

All he got was a glare. "I watch you to insure that you will not hurt her for any reason." He gave Raoul a curt nod. "Get to sleep. You have six hours till sunrise."

"But-" Raoul yelped when the door was slammed in his face. With a sour pout, Raoul turned and picked up the candle to look around the room. It was a nearly empty room with only a few stage props stuffed into the corner and a small bed, probably from a play as well.

Since it seemed that the phantom was not going to kill him and had made that blatantly clear by saving his life and making plans for him to return home, Raoul settled himself on the small bed and tried to relax enough to sleep.

The nights stressful venture slowly began to drift away, leaving him feeling weighted and exhausted. Within minutes he was asleep.

I think you get the idea. He goes home, doesn't tell anyone and it makes an interesting character builder that may have changed the ending of the movie had it really happened.

I am not in love with the idea of a second Phantom movie. Everything about it is basically the exact opposite of what should have really happened. And one of those points being that Erik would rather have Christine dead than in the arms of another man. He may be psychotic and controlling, but he loved her enough to let her go once, Im guessing he could do it again.


End file.
